Car of this week

I Offer you the car of this week and this car specifications with a very special
                 it,s      HONDA CIVIC  Tyep R  MUGEN
                      

Maybe you’ve heard of Mugen, the Japanese tuning outfit that specializes in making street-legal Hondas hotter when it’s not building race car engines. Founded in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, son of Soichiro, Mugen (the name means ‘infinite’ or ‘unlimited’ in Japanese) has earned a solid reputation in its homeland. From 1991 to 2000, for example, Mugen built and prepped engines for a number of Formula One teams, including Tyrell, Prost, Ligier and Jordan. Despite such achievements, the Mugen name isn’t yet as well known as, for example, Mercedes-Benz’s go-fast division AMG.

With the recent confirmation that Mugen’s European division, based in Northampton, England, is to build a limited run of super-quick, ultra-exclusive and hyper-expensive Civic Type Rs (with Honda’s full approval), it seems that the brand is seeking a little long-overdue recognition outside Japan.

Moving into uncharted territory, Mugen was cautious. Although it had earlier sold every one of 300 Civic Type RR sedans it built for the Japanese market in a six-minute online frenzy, Mugen dipped its toe in British waters with a ‘concept’. This was exhibited at shows and loaned to key media outlets over period of several months, and the reaction carefully gauged. The Mugen men must have liked what they heard and read, because the decision to build a run of “up to 20? duplicates during 2010 was announced in late October.

Based on the 2.0-liter, 198-hp Civic Type R three-door hatchback built in Honda’s British factory, Mugen’s engine modifications up the already impressive max power figure by 20 percent.
It’s a classic tuner job; high-compression pistons, new cams, free breathing induction system, totally new stainless steel exhaust system, and a Mugen ECU that permits a 500 rpm increase over the standard Honda H20A engine’s 8000-rpm ceiling.

While the engine is at the heart of the Civic Type R Mugen, there’s more to it than what’s under the hood. A large wing hangs from its tail (no, it doesn’t block rearward vision), there are vents in the bonnet, and the front guards are Mugen-specific.
Customers will have the option of keeping the standard Type R interior or paying extra for the same fit-out as the red ‘concept’ car. This comprises a pair of Recaro racing seats (which were damned uncomfortable for more than an hour of freeway driving), three extra gauges (coolant and oil temp, oil pressure) and…no rear seat. Ditching the Honda’s folding rear bench accounts for most of the 230-lb weight reduction Mugen claims.
There’s plenty more tech stuff, too. As well as the limited-slipper mentioned earlier, Mugen also fits a short-throw shift kit. Honda’s manual transmissions are probably the best on the planet for speed and precision, and the kit just makes an already excellent shift even better.
Uprated brakes — larger front discs, clamped by beefier Mugen-specified calipers — deliver reliable and fade-free stopping power. Chassis improvements include new springs and shock absorbers, plus lightweight forged alloy wheels.
Like the regular Civic hatch on which it’s based, the Type R has a simple, semi-independent torsion-beam rear suspension. Although less technically sophisticated than the multi-link rear-end under Civic sedans, it works pretty well.
In fact, with the Mugen’s horsepower, it’s the car’s front end that tends to get the driver’s attention. When accelerating hard out of corners — especially those with bumps or uneven camber — the steering tugs distractingly this way and that. Mostly the Civic Type R Mugen’s tail quietly and faithfully tags along for the ride.
It’s quick, no question, but it’s also a damned busy car to drive hard. But somehow the sonic stimulation, razor sharp engine response, manic steering and firm suspension gel into a memorable (if not totally coherent) experience.

Dynamic quibbles aren’t the Honda Civic Type R Mugen’s biggest problem. The price of the car — even taking into account its exclusivity — is enough to make your checkbook cross its legs. At 38,599 British pounds (about $64,000 at current exchange rates) Mugen may manage to remain obscure a little longer…

Checking the comparative power and torque charts, it’s obvious that the Mugen magic is all in the high-rev cam profile of the i-VTEC-equipped four. Up to the 5500 rpm point where the switchover from mild to wild cam profiles occurs, there’s not that much difference between the lines. The next 3000 rpm are a different story. The Mugen engine’s torque output turns north, power naturally following. It’s telling that the modified engine delivers its 237-hp maximum at 8300 rpm, 500 rpm higher than the standard Honda engine’s peak and 300 rpm past its cutout. If this is beginning to sound like a racing engine, you’re on the right track.
We drove the red ‘concept’ car (the limited-edition run will all be painted white, Honda’s long-time racing color) on some of Britain’s best roads in south-west Wales. From the moment it fires and settles into a quick warm-up idle at almost 2000 rpm, the Mugen-modded engine is a real treat. It’s perfectly tractable when driven sedately, idling evenly and pulling without glitch through the first sectors of the tachometer arc. But it’s the top 3000 rpm you remember.
Despite the limited-slip differential that’s part of the Mugen package, the engine’s top-end is so crazily eager that the car’s sticky Yokohamas can barely cope with the rush of power. In lower gears the rate of increase in revs is madly quick, making the shift-light a useful tool. Yet it’s a beautifully precise engine, with exhilaratingly exact throttle response. Sounds great, too, with an almost race-engine hardness to its note